Train Up A Child

Proverbs 22:6 Train up a child in the way he should go (and in keeping with his individual gift or bent), and when he is old he will not depart from it. I read this today and I had a couple of different thoughts. I am no theologian, but here we go. First, I love what the Amplified Bible adds here. It says to train your child up in the way he should go, IN KEEPING WITH HIS INDIVIDUAL GIFT OR BENT. So training your child up is not just training them in the things of the Lord, though that comes first--knowing Jesus, reading the Bible, going to church, etc. It also has to do with training them according to their individual gifts. If you don't know your child's "gift package" ask God to show you what it is and then encourage it and help them get trained up in it. Sometimes I think we forget that children are individuals with very specific talents and God wants us, as parents, to train them up. Second, and last thought on this verse for now is that I have always made a note of the fact that it says train up a child . . . and when he is OLD he will not depart from it. Interesting, huh? Sometimes I think people wonder if their teenagers or young adults will ever turn around. I think this scripture can bring hope in those situations where they seem really lost. It says if you trained them up as a child, when they are OLD they will not depart from it. I am not sure how OLD they meant, but I have always noticed that it doesn't say< "when they are a teenager they will not depart from it." That is not to say that all teens depart from God, just to say that not all who do are lost forever. Amen?